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Bay on the set of 'Pain & Gain.'

Director Michael Bay got his start directing commercials and now he's going to give another aspiring commercial director his big break. Since 2007, Doritos has allowed amateur filmmakers to offer up homemade commercials with the favorite airing during the Super Bowl. This year, two ads will air, one selected by the Doritos team and one by an America votes contest that ran on Facebook. Whichever filmmaker has the highest-ranking commercial on the USA Today Ad Meter ranking will get a job working with Bay on Transformers 4.

Bay's next movie is Pain & Gain which hits theaters April 26th. The $25 million film (a tiny budget by Bay standards) stars Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a couple of body builders who kidnap and extort a Florida millionaire. Based on a true story, the movie is a mix of comedy, drama and thriller. You can watch the trailer here.

And although he originally planned to make Transformers 3 his last dance with the car robots, he's back on board for the fourth installment of the franchise which will star Wahlberg.

I caught up with Bay by phone in his hotel in New Orleans where he is getting ready to watch to big game. We talked about transitioning from commercials to movies, working with Wahlberg and why Transformers 4 has a whole new cast and look but isn't a reboot.

FORBES: Why did you agree to take part in the Doritos contest?

MICHAEL BAY: I got a call from my agent asking if I wanted to do this Doritos thing. It sounded like bullshit to me. I'd seen their commercials at the Super Bowl and I thought they were done by pros. When I found out they were amateurs, I thought it was a great way to help a young filmmaker break into the business.

What will the winner actually get to do on the Transformers 4 set?

Replace me as director. No, we'll see who the person is and depending on what he is interested in being, a producer or a director, we'll try to tailor the job. It's all hard work when you're working on a movie.

How were you initially able to break out of commercials?

You make it sound like jail. What they tell you in commercials is you can only shoot women or action or funny. They try to pigeon hole you. I said I'm going to use commercials as a stepping stone. I'm going to combine funny with action and cool photography and do drama and emotion. [You can see some of Bay's best commercials here, here and here.]

I put together a reel of 12 commercials. A lot of them were really recognizable. It made the rounds to all the studio heads and pretty soon I was meeting with all of the presidents of the studios. I got a call that Steven wanted to meet me and it was Steven Spielberg. Jerry Bruckheimer saw it and gave me a chance with Bad Boys.

Do you think that could happen to someone today or has the business changed too much?

The business has changed but there is such a great need for directors right now. You've got to have something different. There are so many great avenues now, especially with TV. TV is exploding.

Is there any one of the five Doritos commercial finalists you're rooting for?

I can't say. That wouldn't be fair.

I think it's very cool of Doritos to be doing something like this. When I called the five finalists to congratulate them, it was hysterical.

Let's talk about Pain & Gain which opens in April. What was it like working with such a small budget?

It was tough. We had to suffer a little. A normal movie has 150 scenes. This had 280, which makes it difficult. I had a great time with the cast. We did it fast and inexpensively but it looks great for the money. The actors were a blast to work with. There was no drama with them. They brought their A game.

Will we be surprised by anything we see from Mark Wahlberg or The Rock in the movie?